Pete Carroll sticks to assessment Sanchez left college too early

One of the subplots of this week’s game between the Seahawks and Jets is the reunion of Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez with his college coach Pete Carroll.

When Sanchez left USC with a year of eligibility remaining, Carroll said that he thought the quarterback was making a mistake because he would benefit from another year of college. The Jets disagreed, trading up to take Sanchez with the fifth overall pick of the 2009 draft, and Jets coach Rex Ryan said Wednesday that he thought Carroll was more concerned about his team than Sanchez’s readiness.

“I did not blame Pete Carroll one bit because if I had that young man as my quarterback I’d say whatever it took to get the guy to stay with me,” Ryan said, via Tim Smith of the New York Daily News. “Deep down he knew he was ready. This guy has a ton of ability. You don’t want to lose a player of this caliber, especially one at that position. It’s hard to find these quarterbacks.”

While Carroll admits that Sanchez saying in school wasn’t the right thing just because Carroll felt that way, he’s not backing off his belief that Sanchez would have grown with another year leading the Trojans. Amid a flurry of compliments about Sanchez and what he was able to achieve as a rookie, Carroll stuck to his guns about what he said back in 2009.

“I told Mark exactly what I would have told my son. Exactly,” Carroll said, via Danny O’Neil of the Seattle Times. “I just told him what I knew was the truth. He could have been better prepared if we’d have had him for another year. And I think it would have served him even better.”

It’s impossible to know how things would have played out if Sanchez had remained in college for another season. He could have wound up as the first overall pick or he could have suffered a serious injury or anything in between. The issue became a dead one when the Jets cast their lot. All that matters now is whether the coach can beat his former player or not.

That’s a fair assessment. The organization he’s in doesn’t really fit him as a person though. I feel he’d be better learning under a vet for an extra year so he appreciate the job more and learns more.

I’m sure he probably would NOT have ended up in New York. And he probably wishes he’d stayed another year.

How’s that working out for Matt Barkley ?

geniusfan says:Nov 8, 2012 10:14 AM

Carson Palmer is the only quarterback to come out of USC and have any kind of success in the NFL lately. If it wasn’t for Kimo von Oelhoffen’s dirty blow to his knee I believe that he’d still be a very succesful quarterback with the Bengals.

Translation: Stay away from Matt Barkley in the draft.

joetoronto says:Nov 8, 2012 10:14 AM

Sanchez would have sucked with 5 more years at USC.

He’s your typical college ball QB and nothing more.

rpiotr01 says:Nov 8, 2012 10:24 AM

I’m not a big Pete Carroll fan, but he’s right on this one. Sanchez was less prepared for the NFL than those replacement refs who botched the Inaccurate Reception.

Sanchez made the right decision for himself. He sucks but he is making boatloads of money and banging hot chicks left and right. Maybe if he stayed another year it would have proved he sucked and it would have cost him millions. He is one lucky SOB, he sucks at his job but still gets paid millions.

It doesn’t matter now. The whole point became moot after Sanchez’s first year as a pro.

Heading into Sanchez’s second year as a pro does anybody believe that a senior year in college would have prepared him better than a rookie year in the NFL?

It’s doesn’t make any sense or serve any purpose to keep going on and on about it.

meditatingamigo says:Nov 8, 2012 10:52 AM

Pete Carroll care about Pete Carroll.

ihatethejets23 says:Nov 8, 2012 11:14 AM

Rex Ryan is the biggest problem for the Jets. Constantly hyping up your terrible players gives them little incentive to play with urgency. Sanchez is one of the worst starters in the NFL if not the worst (after Matt Cassel).

yeah rex ryan is right it is hard to find a guy like sanchez, bec most of the QBs that start now are so good that its hard to find a guy in this 4th year whos worse than any rookie on the field this year and still cant make any throws…act i think i remember him having more crisp throws his rookie year than any pass i seen this year….

i didnt agree with the most overrated headcoach sentiment but now i have to, rex clearly has blind faith and just cant see what 99% of america sees…sanchez is a backup QB and should be holding a clipboard weekly. him being to loyal will cost him his career as a head coach no doubt.

cliverush says:Nov 8, 2012 11:56 AM

Pete is a man who is always concerned with the welfare of his players. He is a coach with a big heart and speaks the truth when others will not.